The invention relates to a contact-free plate conveyor particularly for glass plates.
In the float glass production, the glass web which has been formed and solidified on a liquid metal bath is carried away in a well-known manner by plate conveyors which are generally roller conveyors on which the glass web is moved with its bath side disposed on the rollers. During movement, the finished glass web is cut longitudinally and transversely into glass plates of the desired format and these glass plates are also moved by plate conveyors to stacking station where the plates are removed from the conveyor.
By its contact with the rollers during its movement over the rollers, small traces remain on the support side of the glass. These traces are normally not noticeable but are objectionable for some applications and therefore detrimentally affect the quality of the glass surface.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a conveyor by which such traces inflicted by the mechanical contact between the glass surface and conveyor elements is avoided.